Qouth the Raven
by DarkSin13
Summary: When Kurama races to school one morning, only to find it in ruins from the aftermath of a bomb, he realizes that all enemies may not have died in the DT. What kind of revenge does a certain crow have in store for him? Warnings inside.
1. Shall Be Lifted Nevermore!

**A/N:**

**Yeah. This is what happeneds when I'm bored to death, with a shitload of CSI, Law and Order, and Yu Yu Hakusho stuck in my mind. Expecially when my mind frame consists of /happy/ thoughts that would send a US Marine** **heading for the hills. xD**

**Warnings:**

**This fic contains in later chapters :  
RAPE**

**This Chapter:  
KARASU**

**Among other less important things. But yeah. Don't like, don't read. It is not a Karasu/Kurama fic. If anything, it's one sided. No yaoi. I don't write yaoi. I can write MILD rape, but no citrus.**

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BABOOM! 

Kurama glanced out the window of his bedroom. Odd. There was a pillar of smoke rising up from the direction of his school. As quick as he could, he yanked on his uniform, grabbed the file Koenma had given him previously for an upcoming mission, and bolted out the door with a rushed 'I love you' to his mother. He was late as it was already, and that blast worried him slightly.

"Fox." A voice behind him called.

"Yes, Hiei?"

"That prison you called a school…" Hiei appeared next to him.

"Called?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

"Half of it's blown away. Your ningen authorities are on the scene now. You may want to check it out." With that, the shorter of the two flitted away, leaving a shocked redhead behind.

"WHAT?"

When he arrived on the scene, Kurama was taken aback. The school was up in flames, half the building destroyed, and there were sirens coming from everywhere. He could see and smell the death and harm the explosion had caused, for half the school was a bloody mess.

He ran towards where his classroom had been. It had been damaged the most, rubble everywhere, electrical wires hanging loosely. Every now and then one would shoot sparks.

"H-Help M-Me!" A voice called faintly from the rubble. Kurama gasped as he hurriedly unearthed his first period teacher from the mess.

"Hirigana-sensei!" He shouted, helping the man to stand. Both of the teacher's legs had been crushed, and Kurama guessed that a few ribs had broken too.

"Shuichi." Gasped the teacher. "A-A man… H-he was l-looking for y-y-you… T-then the blast…" The old sensei gave a racking cough, blood glistening brightly as it coated his lips. "H-He had a-a m-mas-" With that, the man passed out in Kurama's arms.

"We'll take him from here, kid. Are you all right?" A paramedic rushed up to him with a stretcher, gently taking Hirigana from his grasp.

"I'm fine. His legs are crushed, and I suspect a few broken ribs. He's lost a lot of blood." Kurama said, working out what his teacher had said before passing out. A brief image flashed in his mind, and he quickly pushed it away. _No… He's dead…._

"Hey, kid. I'm Wheeler Honda with the Tokyo crime lab." A blond hair, blue eyed, man who had previously been studying something on the broken chalkboard hen the paramedic arrived, came up to him. "I'm going to need to ask you a few questions."

"Sure." Kurama's emerald green eyes hardened as he sensed something…familiar… in the room.

"What is your name?"

"Minamino Shuichi. This was my homeroom."

"Ah, okay. You don't appear to be harmed. Where were you at the time of the blast?"

"At home, I had been running late."

"How fortunate. Now, wha-"

"Please excuse me for a moment." Something had caught his eye in the rubble. He stepped closer to it. Wheeler stepped in front of him.

"First, tell me. What's that in your hands?" He pointed to the folder.

"Information from my employer." Kurama replied, noting how the other man's eyebrows had risen.

"May I see?"

Kurama frowned, but shrugged and complied. All the information had been written with Makai symbols, so no worries about the other man understanding what was contained within the Reikai parchment.

"Interesting. What language is this? There's some written on the chalkboard, and no one can figure out what it is. Think you can translate?" Wheeler didn't hand back the folder. "We need this as evidence if you don't mind."

"Actually, I do."

"Hn. Fox. You need to get to Reikai NOW. Something has come up that requires your immediate attention. Or so I've been told." Hiei had suddenly appeared in the grey, gloomy rubble.

"What the-!" The CSI replied.

Ignoring him, Kurama nodded.

"Hai. I'll be there."

Hiei's eyes narrowed at the folder in Wheeler's hands.

"I'll take that." With those words, both the folder and the three-eyed Forbidden One disappeared.

"Gomen nasai, Detective, but I must be going now. Something urgent seems to have come up." Kurama turned to leap out of the depressing rubble, but as he was leaving, something on the chalk board made him froze. He wasn't paying attention to the Investigator coming up behind him, or anything else for that matter. His heart seemed to stop, and he visibly paled. Now he remembered the familer Ki signature.

Before Honda Wheeler placed a hand on Kurama's shoulder, all he heard the fox whisper was four words. But even those words put a certain chill to his spine and he couldn't place why.

"_Qouth the Raven, 'Nevermore'" _Kurama read. "Inari… He's back." With that, he ran, ignoring the voices that called for him to stop.

No… I KILLED him! He can't be… 

He searched for Hiei's ki, but felt nothing. The short pyromaniac had already headed to Reikai. Panicked, Kurama tried to take a shortcut through the woods to his own house, but an explosion near him caught him off guard as he entered the dense forest.

"Hello Kurama." An icy voice cut through the settling dust. Through eyes watering from the dust, Kurama saw a figure standing in the smoke.

"Unfortunately, you had not been at your little ningen school when I arrived there earlier. But, I see you got my message. Are you afraid, little fox?"

"Shut up!" The fox snarled, taking a defensive stance.

"Tell me, my pet. Are you willing to sacrifice your beloved mother's life?" A sinister laugh followed. "The last thing she'll see is the rest of your family's shattered bodies on the floor, their still beating hearts in my hands. Then… BOOM…" Another laugh. "She'll die knowing you never tried to save her."

Kurama let out an audible snarl. "Where are they, Karasu?" He was facing the black clad demon, heart pounding and tense.

"Are you sure you want to know?" With that Karasu summoned a bomb and sent it towards the fox, before whipping around and running through the brush of the woods.

With another snarl, Kurama dodged the oncoming explosive, and swiftly followed. With a small smirk, he noticed that he was getting closer and closer to the crow.

Bombs began exploding around him, unknowingly herding him forth. Heart-pounding, he did his best to avoid as many of them as possible, but many hit their target, causing him to yelp and stumble.

He hadn't been paying attention to where he was heading, when suddenly, he heard a metallic snap, felt the jerk of a chain, and suddenly shooting pain through his right leg. He let out a loud cry of pain. Unable to stop himself, the momentum carried him forward, and he heard a distinctive 'POP' and his leg collapsed from under him, causing him to cry out even louder than before.

He felt his energy slowly begin fading, and it dawned on him with a sickening realization, that he couldn't even summon enough demon or spirit energy to make the tiniest flower bloom. He carefully reached down to the warded bear trap, but he didn't have the strength to pry apart the jaws as the wards shocked and burned his hands away from the cruel metal.

Panicking, he threw himself wildly at the length of the chain, jarring his already dislocated and possibly broken leg even further. He whimpered, as he lay back exhausted. He fought to keep consciousness as the effects of blood loss began to ebb away at his mind. All he could think about was his family. What had the sadistic bastard done to them? He curled up in a small ball, the best he could with his throbbing leg, his red hair spread out like a pool of blood around his scorched and bleeding body...

"My, my… It seems there is a pretty little fox caught in a trap." Behind him, he heard twigs snap, and his heart sunk with each step that neared. Yelping, he vainly tried once again to fight against the trap, but the damage had been done. He was stuck, and he could barely lift his head as the smirking Karasu bent down next to him.

"Ah, ah, ah. No trying to get away. You'll only injure yourself worse." When the kitsune ignored him, Karasu ignited an infamous bomb behind the fox, causing him to jump with fear. Kurama made no effort to attempt to move again, and kept his head down. With a sadistic grin, Karasu cupped the fox's chin in his hand, and lifted it so his cold violet eyes met terrified emerald.

Karasu chuckled when Kurama jerked and let out a half-growl, half-snarl that even sounded pathetic to the fox's own ears. The crow all out laughed when Kurama snapped at him, small human, but sharp, fangs missing the crow's hands by centimeters.

"Your eyes betray your fear, my lovely pet. As entertaining as it is, watching you struggle pathetically and painfully, we must return to my home in the Makai."

"Y-You _bastard…"_ Kurama coughed.

Karasu smirked. "Perhaps. But I wouldn't think it intelligent to trade insults with me, when, may I remind you, you do not have the upper hand in the situation." He ran a hand through the silky blood like hair. He pulled a small, white mask-like device from his pocket and placed it over Kurama's mouth.

"Breathe." He commanded.

Defiantly, the fox refused, terrified anger blazing through his slightly dull eyes.

With his free hand, Karasu removed his own mask before pinching the fox's nose closed, other hand still firmly on the device he was holding up to the fox. With a smirk, Karasu bended down and pressed his cold lips up against the boy's forehead.

Kurama, not expecting it, gasped, sucking in the gas the white device contained. He fought against the dizzy, sleepy feeling that washed over him. He felt Karasu buckle a leather-like collar around his neck, which seemed to sap his strength even more.

"…N-Nnh…"

"Shh… Hush, pet. It's only a sedative. I wouldn't kill you…yet. We have unfinished business from the Tournament to settle."

Karasu reached over and unclasped the steal jaws of the trap, disabling the wards while he was at it. Vaguely sensing the freedom, Kurama tried to crawl away, but his previous injuries, coupled with blood and energy loss, prevented him from going more than a foot. Seeing the feeble escape attempts, Karasu then picked up the semi-conscious teenage fox-boy bridal-style, causing the redhead to recoil from his touch.

Whimpering, Kurama felt himself slowly blacking out. With a final sigh, he leaned his head against the chest of his captor, blissful obliviation finally reaching him. One word escaped his lips as he closed his eyes.

_"Mother…"_

"That ningen woman is your ultimate weakness, foxy boy." Karasu said to the unconscious form. "I suggest you learn to rid yourself of weaknesses, for the outcome of them will prove to be a…blast… We have unfinished business to attend to from the Dark Tournament."

With a cynical laugh, he began to head back towards the portal to the Makai. He was careful to avoid all human contact, and kept to the shadows and dark alleyways with his luggage in tow. He only paused when he came close to the remains of what had been Meiou High. With a feeling of satisfaction, he smirked at the scent of death and explosives that filled the air.

Once he passed the barrier back into Makai, he smirked at the unconscious one in his arms.

"Enjoy your sleep while you can, Fox. When you wake up, we're going to have a little _fun_..."

_...Qouth the Raven..._

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_**A/N: What do you think? Drop a comment or two. I love suggestions.**_  
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	2. His and His Alone

**_A/N: Yay. Update. x3 I couldn't figure out how to write this... Ergh..._**

**Warnings:**

**Actual rape in the chapter. O.o You have been warned.**

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Chapter 2

**His, and His Alone...**

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"WHERE IS HE?"

"Jeez Koenma! Calm down!" Yusuke shouted. "He's probably just running a little late, that's all!"

"I don't care! Go and find him!"

"What the HELL is your PROBLEM?" Hiei snarled at the red-faced toddler.

"It's Karasu! He's escaped from Reikai prison and managed to get a hold of his old body, and my sourses say he's after Kurama!"

"You IDIOT! And you didn't tell us about this before, WHY?"

"Hn. I'm sure the kitsune can take care of himself. Unless the crow gets a hold of his weakness…" Hiei muttered. "Shit…"

"Go and find him! We're going to have him and his family gaurded."

"Since when do you care about the fox so much?"

"Since my father threatened two hundred spankings if one of you guys died."

"Where is my son?" Shiori asked with concern when she opened the door to find the three Reikai Tantei. "I know he's not at school, because…" Her eyes brimmed with tears. "…and I saw him this morning. He should have been home by now."

"The truth is, Mrs. Minamino, we don't know." Yusuke said as gently as he could. "But…"

"Mrs. Minamino?" A voice called from behind. "Is this the Minamino residence?" Honda Wheeler stood behind the three 'boys,' with a frown on his face.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I am Honda Wheeler with the Tokyo Crime Lab. Does your son have a job? He mentioned something about it earlier, before he ran off, but his records said he didn't have one."

"A-A job? No, not that I know of. Do you know where he is?"

"No ma'am, that's why I came here. He bolted from the crime scene. We think he may have known who blew up the school."

"Well, DUH. He knew the guy. It was the freaky bisexual bomb crow demon dude that he fought in the Dar- OWW! SHRIMP! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT." Kuwabara shouted, taking a swipe at Hiei after the fire demon cracked him over the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Oaf." Hiei snarled, sheathing his katana. "They don't need to know about that."

Wheeler shot a look of recognition at Hiei. "Hey! Where are those files! Give them up now, and you'll be charged with the minimum of theft and withholding of vital evidence."

The fire youkai snorted. "No. I don't have them." He looked at Yusuke. "Detective? I'm going to look for the fox. The scent of his blood is in the wind, and I don't feel like having to explain to the toddler why we let all possible leads waltz away."

"Yeah… Sure…" Yusuke replied. By the time the second syllable was out of his mouth, hiei had already taken off down the street. Disgruntled, the Crime Scene Investigator tried to take off after him, shoutiong something about how the demon was going to be arrested… Yusuke ignored it as Hiei decided to cut the crap and flit off, leaving nothing behind.

Yusuke shook his head as he turned back to the shocked mother of his comrade.

"Anyway, Mrs. Minamino, we, uh… We think that Kur- your son has been kidnapped…"

Kuwabara's startled outstretched arms caught Shiori as she began to collapse in a dead faint.

Cold.

That was all he felt, as he became dimly aware. He slowly tried to move his hands and feet , only to find that he was curled up as much as he could be, and that his feet had kicked up against metal... Frowning, he slowly opened his eyes… and gasped.

He was in a small cage, similar to that of one you would see at a veterinarian's office for a medium dog or cat. The floor was bare, and he had almost no room to sit fully. He sighed as the memories came flooding back to him…

Wait…

Where was his family?

He looked around the room he was contained in frantically. He saw… a four poster bed, a chair, and a night stand. One, small window gave the room the light of the raining Makai night, though several unlit candles littered the wall. A chest, partially opened, sat at the end of the bed, and from what the fox could see of it's partially opened structure, was several chains, whips, and a multitude of other items that made Kurama wince.

But, where was his family?

He saw no sign that anyone, other than the room's occupant, had been in the room for quite some time.

"Ah. I see you are awake, my little kitsune."

Surprised, Kurama shot back, banging into the wall of his prison. He cursed at his stiff and weakened movements, pulling aimlessly at the collar keeping his energy in check.

"Where are they, Karasu? Where is my family?" Kurama snarled with as much confidence and bravado he could muster.

"Now, now, my fox. Why should I tell you? What have you done to me in return?" He replied, smirking coldly. A look of frightened realization fell over Kurama's eyes, and he shuddered slightly at what the crow implied.

"You-"

"No, Fox. _You." _Karasu laughed, and flung open the cage door. Blindly, Kurama tried bolting, only to cry out in pain as his left calf exploded, showering him in his own, rich blood.

"Tsk. Tsk. No need to run, Kurama. What about your beloved _family?" _Karasu laughed madly. He gruffly grabbed the panicking redhead, and threw him onto the bed, ignoring his protests. Kurama was quickly shackled to the bed posts, and continued to desprately pull against to chains.

Ignoring him, Karasu walked over to the opened chest near the wall, calmly speaking to the fox.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay in that pitiful dog crate. You will soon be moving to the basement, where it is much...colder…"

He rummaged through the chest, until he pulled out a relatively sharp looking knife. Upon seeing it, Kurama's eyes widened, and he shrunk away, the blood from his leg staining against the covers of the bed.

Pull yourself together, Kit… Youko mumbled to him. _Just try to stay calm, and lets think of a way to get out of this situation…Remember, he has Shiori, Shuuichi, and Hatanaka… _Even offering his advice, Youko sounded shaky. That scared the Shuichi part of him even more.

Youko mumbled to him. Even offering his advice, Youko sounded shaky. That scared the Shuichi part of him even more. 

Inari, NO!

He struggled to stay calm as a cold, sinking feeling filled him. The crow had his family… He closed his eyes tightly, and opened them to look coldly at the oncoming Karasu.

"What do you want with me? Let my family go… and… I'll do what you want…" He barely choked out, fighting to gather at least a little of his aura. He failed miserably.

Karasu laughed. "Bribery won't work, Kitsune. You see, I have a token, and I'm not afraid to use it…" He said nothing more, and crawled into the bed, settling on top of the fox.

Kurama could do nothing but try to pull away as Karasu began kissing his neck passionately, where the collar did not cover.

The crow tore open Kurama's shirt, revealing creamy skin. With skills only a master could have, he slowly drew the knife across Kurama's stomach, leaving a thing red line. The smell of fresh blood assaulted his nose, and he inhaled deeply.

Kurama said nothing as Karasu began to slash into his abdomen. He lay there limp, eyes closed, despratly trying to picture himself to be anywhere but there.

"Ah, what's the matter, Foxboy?" Karasu taunted. "You aren't responding to my wonderful touch… Perhaps we aren't moving along quickly enough for your tastes..."

Karasu yanked on Kurama's pants, slipping them to his ankles. Blushing, Kurama struggled madly.

"Stay away from me, you god damned bird!"

"Crossing your legs already?" Karasu taunted further. "Who knew that the Great Youko Kurama was modest?" He laughed at his own joke, and tisked as Kurama tried to roll over.

"Now, pet. I want to see you face as I fill and explore every inch of your beautiful body... I want to see your face as I steal your precious humaninnocence..."

He chuckled darkly and returned to the terrified, shouting fox with a new vigor...

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Five minutes later, long tearful pained screams rang through Karasu's lair until finally... Eerie silence...

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Karasu sighed, spent. He looked down at his unconcious 'pet' and gave a small smile as he gave one last stroke of the knife to the fox's bare and bleeding stomach. He completed what he wanted; the one thing, other than the deep puncture wound on the boy's neck, that showed that Kurama was forever _his_, and his alone.

He pulled his sweaty body off the fox and admiredthe drying blood that covered the wordon the youko's abdoman.

_'KARASU'_

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**_A/N:_**

**_Okay, that is as close to a lime that__I_ _can write without getting really perverted. xD My family and friends would kill me if they ever found outI wrote something like this.Actually, the majority of my friends would think it was awesome. O.OYeah..._**

_**i hope you liked this chapter. **_

**-DarkSin13**


	3. Drip Drop

**Rawr. Update! Yay! 8D**

**Read. x3**

**Warnings: Implied rape. Nudity. Torture. **

**Don't like that kind of stuff? Why the hell have you read this far then?**

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Drip. Drip. Drip._

Groggily, Kurama forced open his eyes. His throat was raw, and his arms were sore. He was bleeding in many places all over his body, some places numb from the cold. Or blood loss. He still couldn't decide which.

The ceaseless dripping from the dungeon ceiling never failed to annoy him. He hung there, naked and shackled to the wall, his breathing shallow. He wasn't sure how long he had been Karasu's captive. He had lost track of the days long before…

A wracking cough tore through his system, causing him to cough up blood and bile from his already shredded larynx.

"My dear pet, have you come to terms with your punishment? Or do you, perhaps, need more time down here?" Karasu's voice echoed through the dark room, as the door swung open, and light filled the damp dungeon.

_Great. Just great, _Kurama thought to himself. _Time for another fuck-fest. Inari. Why can't he just kill me?_

Defiantly, Kurama spat a glob of bloody phlegm at the crow, the glob landing in front of the demon, missing him by mere feet.

Karasu quirked an eyebrow. "I see… A few more days shall do it then."

The fox didn't respond. He continued staring at the cold stone floor, his body ever so slowly shutting down.

Unhappy with what little response he got, Karasu glided over to where the beaten and bloody boy was hanging. Cupping his hand under the redhead's chin, he lifted the face to see shrunken back emerald eyes.

"You must be starving… You haven't eaten in almost a week… But, if you don't want me to go lenient on you, pet, you may stay here…" Karasu planted his lips on the other's, and tried poking his eager tongue into the reluctant fox's mouth. However…

"Itai! I see you still haven't learned your lesson about biting!" There was a loud 'SMACK' and the crow slapped the fox with enough force to leave an angry, bleeding mark on the fox's cheek.

"As you haven't learned not to stick things where they don't belong." Kurama's hoarse voice snarled back. He could feel his throat tear, and blood trickling down it, and he fought another cough.

"Being cheeky, are we? Are you up for another round? Your beautiful body may not be able to handle it…" Karasu replied, silkily. He ran his hand through the flaming rose-red hair, which now hung in matted clumps. "Beautiful kitsune, your hair is in need of a good washing soon. Such as shame to let such beauty go to waste…" He yanked hair, causing Kurama to grit his teeth in an effort not to let the crow know he was in pain.

Kurama felt himself drop to the ground unexpectedly. He let out a small whimper as many wounds began to reopen, crimson dripping to the floor.

He unsteadily made an attempt to push himself up, but failed and collapsed again as his muscles tore and rebelled. He lay on the ground, limp, and tried not to shudder when he heard the oh-so familiar sound of clothes falling to the ground.

"Now, Pet, we will try again. If you bite me this time, I will not hesitate to blow off your legs…"

Karasu yanked the boy's head up by his hair, cold, violet eyes glaring into dull, terrified, jade.

-xxxxxx-

"I'm sorry to say, but the search for Kurama has got to be put off. He's been missing for almost two months! And we still haven't gotten a lead on him! Reikai Officials have declared you guys to be too involved with finding Kurama than with your other work and you guys have been slacking… Your new case is-"

"Now listen here, Pacifier Breath! Kurama is our friend! We need to find him before Karasu kills him!"

Koenma turned to stare at Yusuke, his glare harder than they had ever seen.

"Karasu isn't going to kill Kurama. If he does, it would not only alert us to his exact location, but it would free the fox from his grasp. He doesn't want that. So, until one of them dies… We may not find him…" Koenma's voice dropped low. "I tried fighting with the Council, but my father agrees with them. So…"

"Che. Typical. Reikai's all about business. Damn idiots could care less if one of their best Tantei disappeared…" Hiei growled. "I'm leaving. Fuck your new mission. Get one of your other lackeys to do it." With that said, he flitted off.

"Fine!" Koenma growled. "Yusuke, you and Kuwabara are to catch these two D-Class youkai. They're somewhere in Tokyo… Boton will fill you in. When you're done, bring Hiei back here."

"Sure. Just give me a fire-proof suit first…" Yusuke muttered.

"There's no way I'm catching the Shrimp! Urameshi can do that!" Kuwabara shouted at the demi-god.

"JUST SHUT UP AND GET TO WORK!"

"…Jerk…"

-xxxxx-

_Kit? Kit? Shuichi… It's Youko. Acknowledge me, damn it._

_Y-Youko? _Came the shaky reply. The former theif had been silent for days, and it had made him begin to worry.

Hang in there, Kit. I'm going to try to tap into my -no- our reserves and heal some of this… mess… 

_No. We're weak enough as it is. It'd be best just to save it for an emergancy…_

Youko frowned, mentally. _True… I wonder…_

_What?_

_If I can force some of the ki being drained into our youki reserves, I may be able to come out, and… take your place… I wouldn't have enough power to manipulate weapons, but-_

_Damn it, Youko! No! _

_Why? It's bad enough to have you suffer for the two of us. I could take some of the pain away. But then, if we were caught… _Youko sighed. _We'd be screwed. No going back… And we've been here this long, with Karasu hounding us._

_I'm not sure, but something seems off…_

_Damn you and your damned ningen stubbornness… I don't think Karasu has Shiori… Just a hunch…_

_I… don't know… he seems sincere, and I wouldn't want to risk it._

_It's either you or me._

"**Wake up Fox. It's play time."**

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**Yay! Update! Sorry it took so long. x.x What did you guys think of this chapter? **

**See that button? Click it and review! **

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	4. More to Torture Than Pain

**I know. I have no excuse... No updates for hell-knows-how-long. Very, very sorry. Computer lost my original document, dammit, and I lost my muse. **

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Kurama opened his eyes weakly. He turned to glare coldly at the ebony-hair demon that was grinning wolfishly at him.

"I'm sorry for waking you, love, but we must get that beautiful hair of yours cleaned before it gets to be too much of a mess… Shame, the condition its in now is horrid…"

Kurama would have said something, but he found his vocal cords and throat to be too raw to even make a whimper. Instead, he soundlessly bared his teeth.

Karasu frowned at the gesture. "Have you forgotten your most recent punishment for biting me? Sadly, it doesn't seem that I have gotten it through to you…" There was an explosion besides Kurama, and he jump to the side, finding himself to be, surprisingly, not shackled to the wall. However, his heart sank when he realized that there was a chain leading from his neck to Karasu's hands…

"Come. You will pay later for your insolence." With that, the crow turned and gave a sharp tug on the chain, causing the fox attached to sputter and choke as he tried to stand.

Kurama was dragged –quite literally- out of the dungeon for the first time in weeks. His legs felt like jelly, and pain ripped throughout his entire body, relentless. But… he was grateful. He greatly welcomed the change of air, new scents, and change of scenery. It reminded him of the world outside of his little torture chamber.

He let himself be brought to a bright, clean bathroom, only becoming troubled when he found he had difficulty walking up the stairs to get to it. He was panting heavily, and was ready to collapse. Starvation, exhasution, and blood loss was not a very good combination…

Karasu said nothing as he watched in sick amusement as his fox struggled to follow him. He led the beaten red-head across the tiled floor, and motioned towards a rather large, round tub filled with warm water.

"In." He commanded. Kurama stared blankly at the water. Frowning, Karasu pushed him in. "You know, Pet, I really don't like repeating myself. Don't make me do it again."

Kurama was taken by surprise by the abrupt action by the crow. He sputtered, as he got water into his mouth and eyes, and the warm liquid re-opened a few of his closed wounds. He hissed in pain as his body tried to adjust to the warmth, and the effect it had on his wounds.

"Does it hurt, pet?" The crow asked in a tone that clearly said he didn't give a damn if the fox was in pain or not. He gave a small chuckle as a growl gargled through Kurama's throat.

"Now, now. Just lie back and relax. Today is special… Do you know why?" Karasu said silkily, threading his fingers through Kurama's matted hair.

"Today's the day you let me go?" Kurama snapped, not even hopeful. He knew it would never happen. But getting under his captor's skin was his only way to entertain himself. Although, he soon found it would just cause him more pain and misery…

Karasu gave a small smile as he squirted a small dose of shampoo into his palm and began lathering the mass of crimson tangles before him. "Sorry, but no, Fox. Today is a special day… Today is your ningen birthday. The day you were born into that lovely body…"

Kurama whirled around, his teeth closing on the foam-covered fingers of the crow. Karasu grabbed his head, and roughly forced it under water. Kurama struggled madly, soapy water filling his lungs. Just as he thought he would black out, he was pulled out, coughing and gagging. He was dragged out onto the cold tile, shivering. He was trying to rub the soap out of his eyes, when Karasu grabbed his hands and tied them together with gauze from a medical kit.

"Let… Me… Go…" Kurama choked out as blood bubbled up to his throat again.

"Normally, I would blow off a few limbs for that, but seeing how today is a special day, you'll be spared… For now…" Karasu bent down, and picked the wet boy up bridal-style. He carried the redhead out of the bathing room, and across the hall to his own quarters.

Kurama squirmed on the bed, when Karasu laid him down.

"Stop."

The one word was spoken with such cold harshness, and given his treatment from the last two months, made Kurama freeze in fear.

"Good, now, you will stay _still _as I leave for a moment. Otherwise, you won't get your reward…"

_Bastard. _Kurama thought, but he complied. He ached all over, though it felt good to be slightly cleaner than before...

When Karasu returned, Kurama had no choice but to let his wounds be attended to. His body soon went slack, and he closed his eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness. He hated submitting himself to allow the crow to take care of his every need. He still had some fight left, but not much, and at the moment he couldn't call on the strength to fight back. It was then he realized he had been drugged. Again.

"Shh… Relax, pet. I'm almost done. Soon I can show you that there is more torture in pleasure than pain. So much more…" Kararsu's eerie, silky, ever so cold voice dripped with false promises and concern…


End file.
